Blogging about my daily life in Atlanta and my adventures with my brothers as we take on races together!

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Together We Wheel..... Bigger, Better, Stronger, Further than ever Before.

I am going to go out on a limb and admit that while watching our Bowling with KPeasey fundraising event earlier last month, there were several times that I thought of Twinkle Toes Flintstone chucking one down the alley at Midtown Bowl to pick up that nearly impossible 7-10 split. In reality, however, Fred was no where to be found but the pins were flying courtesy of the many friends, fans and family who attended our 4th annual fundraising event.

In bowling a perfect score is 300 and that is the number of guests we exceeded on that perfect evening as 300 enthusiastic Kpeasey supporters joined us for a night of pins, pizza, prizes and pitchers (of soda that is). For the night we raised over $18,000 which exceeded our expectations and will support a lot of children and disabled adults over the course of the next 12 months.

We even had an appearance from Brian Jordan of Braves/Falcons fame who not only joined us but showed what a first class act he is by staying much of the evening and making himself accessible and open to anyone and everyone who approached him. He even donated a pair of signed cleats to the raffle and a Jessie Tuggle autographed lithograph. Not to mention that he made my armpits sweat and my knees knock as he came up and shook my hand (and you thought that was the smell of bowling shoes).

Brent and I want to thank the students of Kennesaw State University who volunteered their time and did an amazing job of making people feel welcome and keeping things moving so that Brent and I could play the roles of gracious hosts. The evening would not have been a success without their efforts and we feel that they will be an even bigger part of our future in 2014 and beyond.

I really feel that our foundation has turned the corner and the growth we experienced in 2013 will be dwarfed by what we do in 2014. Our goal remains to involve as many disabled people as possible and we feel our outreach will include not only children, but disabled adults, returning veterans and anyone who could benefit from Together We Wheel and the Kyle Pease Foundation.

In a bitter-sweet moment we bid farewell to our Chairman Ben who is moving on to a new opportunity in the Holy Land of Bethlehem. Without Ben's leadership there would be no KPF Board and we wish him nothing but the best.

His replacement at the top of the KPeasey board is Greg Smith who will bring us to a new level with his goal to get the Kyle Pease Foundation established in the business world in Atlanta and throughout the United States. Overall it is a very exciting time for the Foundation.

Overall our event was an evening we will never forget until it is exceeded next year in size and kindness. Seeing the smiles on the faces of Teresa and Justin Knight, Jennifer and Aiden Jackson as we presented them to the crowd of onlookers was pinnacle of the fruits of our labors. Teresa and Justin ran the Marine Corp Marathon in October, while Aiden and Jennifer committed to joining them in October of 2014. The thought of seeing KPF runners blossom before our very eyes is the realization of a dream, a goal, a fantasy come true. Together We Wheel Bigger, Better, Stronger, Further than ever before.

Below are a handful of additional photos that capture the magic of the evening...Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.